Mass Torts
Mass Torts Law Blog
First Valsartan, Now Zantac: Cancer Causing Impurities in Foreign-Made Drugs
Posted in Mass Torts
We have already written at length about the nationwide litigation alleging contamination of Valsartan, Losartan, and Irbesartan, with carcinogenic substances. Basically, the claims are that generic versions of those drugs were being made overseas using poor manufacturing processes that caused the drugs to be tainted with impurities. That contamination included… Continue reading
Plaintiffs’ Claims Against Gilead Permitted to Proceed in HIV Drug Lawsuits
Posted in Mass Torts
Gilead Sciences, Inc. (“Gilead”) manufacturers the HIV drugs: Truvada, Atripla, Viread, Stribild, and Complera. After being named as a defendant in multiple lawsuits in 2018, Gilead filed a motion to dismiss all of the plaintiffs’ claims in the lawsuits, arguing that they were preempted by federal law, including the design… Continue reading
FDA Adds “Black Box” Warning Label to Sleep Drugs Including Ambien, Lunesta
Posted in Mass Torts
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that they are requiring a new black box warning on three drugs commonly prescribed to treat insomnia and sold under various brand names. The warning has been added after serious, deadly side effects were reported from individuals sleepwalking, or performing other… Continue reading
Stark & Stark Named to Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee in Valsartan Litigation
Posted in Mass Torts
On April 24, 2019, the second Case Management Conference (CMC) in the Valsartan Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) before Judge Kugler in Camden, New Jersey was conducted. As part of the agenda, the Court sought to finalize the leadership structure for plaintiffs and defendants. Accordingly, partner, Stefanie Colella-Walsh, has been named as… Continue reading
What Is the Deal With Xeljanz Lawsuits?
Posted in Mass Torts
You have seen a lot of commercials and have probably been searching the internet for some straightforward explanations about Xeljanz Lawsuits. Very simply, Xeljanz (aka tofacitinib) is a drug made by Pfizer used to treat arthritis. Because Xeljanz has to essentially suppress the patient’s immune system to treat arthritis inflammation, the… Continue reading
Bard Hernia Mesh Litigation Continues in Federal and State Courts
Posted in Mass Torts
On April 17, 2019, Judge Sargus, who is overseeing the Bard Hernia Mesh MDL in the Southern District of Ohio, held a Case Management Conference. At the time of the conference, the Court noted that there were just over 1,700 cases filed in the MDL, with approximately 80-100 new cases… Continue reading
IVC Filter Cases Continue to Move Forward
Posted in Mass Torts
Currently, there are more than 10,000 IVC filter cases filed across the country, in state and federal courts, with a majority being filed against manufacturers, Bard Medical and Cook Medical. IVC filters are small devices surgically implanted into the inferior vena cava in an effort to catch blood clots (where… Continue reading
Initial Court Conference Kicks Off Valsartan Litigation in New Jersey
Posted in Mass Torts
On March 27, 2019, the initial Case Management Conference for the Valsartan MDL was held in the District of New Jersey before the Honorable Robert B. Kugler. At the time that the cases were consolidated before Judge Kugler, for pretrial purposes, in February 2019, there were approximately 40 cases filed,… Continue reading
HIV/AIDS Drug Litigation Moves Forward
Posted in Mass Torts
In May 2018, a class action, as well as multiple personal injury cases, were filed against Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Gilead), for claims surrounding the promotion of the manufacturer’s TDF HIV/AIDs drugs. The allegations included: Gilead’s marketing and distribution of the TDF drugs, when a safer alternative (TAF) was known; Failure… Continue reading
Bard Hernia Mesh MDL Moving Quickly
Posted in Mass Torts
We have already written about the thousands of Bard hernia mesh cases pending in Rhode Island state court moving swiftly towards bellwether trials. Not to be outdone, the federal Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) cases in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, before Judge Edmund A. Sargus,… Continue reading
